Justice should be restorative not punitive

November 20, 2017

I think the 3 UCLA basketball players caught shoplifting showed poor judgment. But they have apologized to their Chinese hosts, coaches, teammates, families, and UCLA. And from what I can gather they have learned a life lesson. Shouldn’t that be enough? This wasn’t a high crime and misdemeanor. Nobody was hurt; nobody violated, nobody humiliated.

I don’t understand the insistence for harsh penalties coming from some sport’s commentators, not to mention others. For what purpose? For whose benefit? If they were white, would the reaction be the same?

I would hate to tell you what I did in college — at a Catholic institution — that earned me only a $35 fine and probation; my status on the basketball team went unaffected.

And as for shoplifting, I got caught too at a very young age after a bit of a candy store stealing spree, but my friend and I got away with a dressing down from the store owner. And that was really enough, given the offense. We learned a lesson.

Sam Webb

I'm a long-time socialist and activist, but new to the blogging world, to which I aim to bring a different perspective on politics, sports, culture, and Marxism. I also teach online classes, but leave plenty of time for swimming, hiking, ESPN, music, reading, drinking good beer, and, not least, my family and friends. I wish I could play basketball, but my knees ruled out that possibility long ago.
While I currently reside in New York City, my politically formative years were spent in Detroit during the 1970s and 1980s. I graduated from St. Francis Xavier University in Nova Scotia (where I played basketball) and received my MA in economics from the University of Connecticut.
I was the national chairperson of the Communist Party, USA from 2000 until 2014 when I stepped down at the convention, In 2015 I resigned from the Communist Party.